"Chelsea Lately" (11 p.m., E!) departs tonight. More than 30 stars have been scheduled to appear in the live hourlong event, including 50 Cent, Jennifer Aniston and Sandra Bullock.

It's fitting to sum up Chelsea Handler's departure with a dose of her own sarcasm. Will a show that was not very much watched be very much missed? Ratings have fallen by half since 2011.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect to Handler's departure is her decision to host a talk show on Netflix. Late night shows are, by definition, tied to a particular evening and give comics a chance to comment on recent events. Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart live and die by their topicality.

Currently, Netflix offers a broadcast model where there is no "now," where viewers can binge on a whole season of new shows like "Orange Is the New Black" or devour old movies or old episodes of "Breaking Bad" at will.

It should be interesting to see how a topical talk show conforms to this "timeless" environment. Or if Handler's arrival will mark a move by Netflix to embark on a new kind of streaming, "broadcasting" -- if that is the word -- with more immediacy.

Netflix is also a place where "ratings" aren't discussed, because they don't really exist. We are told that "Orange" and "House of Cards" are "hot," but we're never told exactly how many people have watched or streamed those series. On a subjective level, Netflix can state that those offerings have helped them gain more subscribers, but we don't know exactly what those subscribers watch. Or don't watch.

That might dovetail nicely with Handler's niche appeal. Ratings are essentially irrelevant to Netflix, because they are not in the advertising business. But neither is HBO. And that broadcaster is more than happy to tell us how many people watched "Game of Thrones." More than one cynic has suggested that if the numbers for "House of Cards" were so good, Netflix would have told us.